3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze: Difference between revisions
Line 354: | Line 354: | ||
|- | |- | ||
|11/28/2017||750ml||Screen printed bottle, 5th blend of the 2017-2018 season. This particular geuze is blended with lambics aged on 7 different barrels, originating from wort of 5 different brews. 5.5% ABV||- | |11/28/2017||750ml||Screen printed bottle, 5th blend of the 2017-2018 season. This particular geuze is blended with lambics aged on 7 different barrels, originating from wort of 5 different brews. 5.5% ABV||- | ||
|- | |||
|03/22/2018||375ml||Screen printed bottle, 41st blend of the 2017-2018 season. This particular Oude Geuze has been blended with lambics from 5 different barrels and originating from 5 different brews. The oldest portion in this blend is 3 Fonteinen lambic brewed in March 2015. This label is also availble in NL/FR.||- | |||
|- | |||
|04/16/18||375ml||Screen printed bottle, 51st blend of the 2017-2018 season. This particular Oude Geuze has been blended with lambics from 8 different barrels and originating from 11 different brews. The oldest portion in this blend is a 3.5-year old 3 Fonteinen lambic brewed on the 22nd of October 2014. This label is also available in NL/FR.||- | |||
|- | |||
| | |||
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} |
Revision as of 18:05, 14 October 2018

Description
3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze is an oude geuze blended by 3 Fonteinen containing lambic whose wort originated at 3 Fonteinen as well as from Boon and/or Lindemans. It is released yearly in many batches in both 375ml and 750ml bottles. It has occasionally been available in 1.5L bottles as well. For oude geuze bottlings that contain 100% 3 Fonteinen-brewed lambic starting in 2015, see Cuvée Armand & Gaston
History / Other Notes
Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze is one of the oldest beers in their portfolio. Bottles dating as far back as 1959 have been opened and shared among lambic drinkers. Old bottles with no labels have corks stating "Debelder", indicating the brewer. During the years preceding 1999-2000, 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze had been produced by blending other producers' lambic. After Armand leased a computerized brewing system in 1998 and began producing his own lambic[1], subsequent blends contained both lambic from Armand as well as from other producers. It is unclear if 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze was ever bottled using Armand's own lambic exclusively. In 2009, a failure of the climate control mechanism resulted in a massive loss of product. This huge financial loss, coupled with the fact that the lease on the brewing system was expiring, meant that no more lambic would be brewed at 3 Fonteinen for the foreseeable future.
To get the brewery back on its feet, Armand released a serious of special geuze blends to raise capital to acquire new brewing equipment. In the time between 2009 and late-2013, 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze was a blend of lambic from Boon,Lindemans, and Girardin, with Girardin only being used through 2010. By 2013, the new brewing equipment was in place and Armand began brew again. The first batch of 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze to contain a portion Armand's lambic after the thermostat incident was bottled on 11/27/2013.
There have been several labels for 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze over the years. The white label documented below was used in the 1990s and early 2000s for both the US and Europe. It notes that the beer won the O.B.P Trophy (Objective Beer Tasters) in 1993. 3 Fonteinen has also used neck labels on occasion (pictured below) for larger-format bottles.
In 2004, the labels switched over to the standard 3 Fonteinen labels seen in stores today. The U.S. versions are yellow and white, while the rest of the world sees a green and white version. Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze bottles are generally have a "bottled on" date on the side of the label as well as with a best by date twenty years away from the bottling date, both in mm/dd/yyyy format.
Synthetic Corks
The earliest known use of a synthetic cork by Drie Fonteinen is a regular Oude Geuze 750ml bottled on February 3, 2006. The November 30, 2006 750ml bottling of Oude Geuze Vintage has a synthetic cork as well as most of the February 14, 2007 St. Valentijn Cuvée bottling. Consumers have noted that the Oude Geuze Vintage bottles with the synthetic corks have been inconsistent, with some bottles being flat and oxidized. The synthetic cork was retired from use after the St. Valentijn Cuvée bottling.
Label Log
-
Early 1990s neck ring, 75cl
-
Early 1990s neck ring, back, 75cl
-
1990s/early 2000s era label, 75cl
-
1990s/early 2000s era label, 150cl
-
Green label, 37,5cl
-
U.S. label, approved 2008
-
Alternate U.S. label, approved 2008
Bottle Log
References
- ↑ Tim Webb, Chris Pollard, Siobhan McGinn, LambicLand: A Journey Round the Most Unusual Beers in the World, 2010